Cincinnati opens 3-game series at home against New York
New York Mets (79-73, third in the NL East) vs. Cincinnati Reds (72-81, fourth in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Jacob deGrom (9-8, 2.61 ERA) Reds: Luis Castillo (15-6, 3.22 ERA)
LINE: Mets -144; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: New York hits the road to begin a three game series against Cincinnati.
The Reds are 40-35 on their home turf. The Cincinnati pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.17, Sonny Gray leads the staff with a mark of 2.75.
The Mets are 36-42 in road games. New York has hit 225 home runs as a team this season. Pete Alonso leads them with 49, averaging one every 11.3 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eugenio Suarez leads the Reds with 48 home runs and is batting .272. Josh VanMeter is 3-for-25 with two home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.
Alonso leads the Mets with 113 RBIs and is batting .266. Jeff McNeil is 8-for-35 with two doubles, four home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .222 batting average, 3.31 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Mets: 7-3, .241 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs
Reds Injuries: Tyler Mahle: (hamstring), Jesse Winker: (back), Nick Senzel: (shoulder), Freddy Galvis: (knee).
Mets Injuries: Drew Smith: (elbow), Jacob Rhame: (elbow), Robert Gsellman: (lat), Dominic Smith: (foot), Yoenis Cespedes: (heels).
